OH Taxonomy
Greg Gohde's love for violins and bow making began in college and soon became his life's work. He moved to San Diego from Chicago, where he opened a repair shop and crafted handmade bows. His store expanded over time into Classic Bows, a world-renowned location for violin goods and services. The...
Glenn Phoenix formed Westlake Audio in 1971 with the goal of providing high quality loud speakers that utilized the latest in audio technology. This remains the goal of the company, which has developed a number of successful and innovative loud speakers including the LC and BBSM series, and well as...
Don Blocker worked behind the music, promoting and selling for several record companies over his long and impressive career. First working for Dot Records, Don learned the craft, which he later honed at Liberty Records. His deep understanding of the business and his caring approach to the artist...
Bill Gardner grew up in Los Angeles surrounded by music. His mother worked at a local record store where he heard the music that would forever shape his life. Years later, Bill went on the air for his first radio show to honor those early musical pioneers. Bill's most recent program, Rhapsody In...
Gregg De Lorto has had a passion for music and playing the guitar from a young age. Growing up playing in multiple bands and feeling the influence of popular music, Gregg eventually entered into a career in sales, working for companies like Music Man, Rickenbacker, and Gibson. Now with Heritage...
Sharon De Lorto truly discovered her passion for music upon marrying her husband, Greg, and was introduced to the culture behind Heritage Guitars, Gibson, and the iconic factory at 225 Parsons St. With a desire to understand the history and preserve the legacy of Orville Gibson, Sharon has...
Kaki King first heard the Ovation Guitar being played by her father. It was one of his prized instruments and young Kaki was not allowed to play with it without him. He later gave that instrument to her, which she used in a few of her recordings and live performances as a professional musician. ...
Eric Ebel is a Senior Project Manager for the Public Affairs and Government Relations department at NAMM. Working throughout the industry before taking a job at NAMM prepared Eric for a multitude of roles within the organization including in the Trade Show Sales department before finding his...
Stuart Robertson is the Creative Director at NAMM with over 20 years of experience with the organization. With a passion for music and a talent in creating marketing and communications material, Stu has been an integral part of the NAMM team and has witnessed the exponential growth of the...
John Payton and his brother Paul were always surrounded by music. Their father, John Payton Sr., ran the family business that he moved to Australia and expanded into music wholesaling. John Sr. was also a founding member of the Australian Music Association in 1977 and helped create the music trade...